Regional development and development programs

Regional development and development programs involve allocating aid and other assistance to less economically developed areas. This aid work is typically done by government agencies and can be domestic or international. The impact that regional development has on an area can vary depending on the size of the region, the scope of the project, and the funds allocated for the project. Regional development plans generally focus on employment and job creation so that the area's population can be not only self-sufficient but able to then reinvest in their local economies. Coming up with a development plan can take time, as various impact studies must be completed to create the most efficient, cost-effective plan that will have the greatest effect on the region.

Background

Regional development efforts have been ongoing in many nations throughout history, including the United States. One such effort involved the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federally-owned corporation that provides electricity for business customers and distributors in parts of seven southeastern states, including Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The agency receives no taxpayer funding, instead generating nearly all the funds it needs to operate from its electric sales. In terms of regional development, the TVA is able to provide flood control, navigation, and land management for the Tennessee River system in addition to assisting local power companies and state and local governments with development and job creation.

The idea for the TVA came about in the early 1930s as the United States was reeling from the Great Depression. To help the nation recover, President Franklin D. Roosevelt came up with the New Deal, which was a series of programs enacted primarily between 1933 and 1938. Signed on May 18, 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, or TVA Act, created the authority to help the hard-hit Tennessee Valley, where it was tasked with improving the quality of life in the region. The Appalachian Regional Commission, another regional development program in the US, provides development and infrastructure resources, as well as healthcare access, in 423 counties across the Appalachian Mountain region. The Delta Regional Authority provides similar assistance in the Mississippi Delta region.

Throughout its decades-long existence, the TVA has aided in the area's regional development by taking on issues of power production, flood control, and reforestation. The authority has harnessed a wide variety of power types over the years, including hydropower, nuclear power, and wind. In the 2000s, the TVA launched the first green power program in the Southeast. Through partnerships with other economic development organizations, the TVA helped increase capital investment and job growth in the region.

Similar programs exist to aid regional development in other parts of the world. For example, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) was created by the government of Canada to help create economic opportunities in the Atlantic Provinces. In Europe, the European Union's (EU) Regional Development Fund, as part of the EU's Cohesion Policy, aims to decrease the wealth disparities between particular regions on the continent. The fund provides low-income areas with resources to generate innovation, social development, and growth. More regional programs also exist. The Northern Powerhouse Initiative focuses on growth in Northern England.

In addition to agencies that work domestically in their country of origin, there are organizations made up of several countries that work together to tackle regional development issues worldwide. One such group is the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It is made up of thirty-eight countries, including the United States, and its goal is to promote evidence-based policies that improve the economic and social well-being of people worldwide. The OECD allows governments to work together and share experiences while seeking solutions to common problems, including trade policies, education, taxation, and energy solutions.

Overview

Regional development is a broad term that can be applied to a wide variety of efforts and practices. In general, it is viewed as an effort to reduce regional disparities by implementing and supporting employment and wealth-generating economic activity in a region. The concept of a region is widely used, and in cases of development, it can mean a geographic or political region. For example, regional development can refer to the development in a specific part of a country or the country as a whole.

Development planning helps those involved in regional development to identify what problems most need to be addressed in that region. There are many steps involved in regional development and putting together a development plan. They include:

• Data collection
• Analysis
• Discussion
• Decisions
• Implementation
• Peer reviews and surveillance

Data collection and analysis are crucial first steps in the regional development process. Before implementing a plan, developers must identify the problems in a region that need to be solved. Clean energy sources, job creation, housing, and basic necessities such as food and water are issues that can be addressed through regional development. By analyzing and discussing the data, decisions can be made, and a final development plan can be implemented. Peer review and multilateral surveillance allow developers to gauge the progress of a region as the performance of each region is monitored by that region's peers.

As regions change and grow over time, so do regional development efforts. Many factors can change the development plan over time for a particular region, such as technological advances, changing lifestyle preferences, money spent on public infrastructure, and political and other international events. For example, advances in science and technology led the TVA to create green energy initiatives to help the environment, including returning to clean nuclear energy in the 2000s and the development of green energy, such as wind power in the 2010s.

As technology continued evolving in the 2010s and 2020s, new development needs emerged. Ensuring equitable access to emerging technologies and the skills to use them, as well as regional policies that support regional investment by technology development companies, became a focus of development programs. The integration of high-speed internet, broadband access, and smart grids allows digital skills training programs to provide individuals in rural regions the opportunity to learn the skills for new occupations in coding, data analysis, cybersecurity, and other technology fields. Several programs are devoted to this type of development, including the US Economic Development Administration's Tech Hubs program, Canada’s Regional Innovation Clusters program, and India’s Digital Villages program.

Bibliography

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Krishna, Sudhir. Regional Development: Problems and Policy Measures. Concept Publishing Company, 1996.

"Our Role: Building a Stronger Economy Together." Governmnet of Canada, www.canada.ca/en/atlantic-canada-opportunities/corporate/role.html. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.

Pinheiro, Romulo, et al. Universities and Regional Development: A Critical Assessment of Tensions and Contradictions. Routledge, 2012.

"Regional Development." Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, www.oecd.org/en/topics/regional-development.html. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.

Torre, Andre, and Frederic Wallet. Regional Development in Rural Areas: Analytical Tools and Public Policies. Springer, 2016.